


The Heart of Haught

by 99bottlestogo (darkside213)



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-08-29 11:53:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16743487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkside213/pseuds/99bottlestogo
Summary: Nicole knew that it was time for change. She was just not sure that it was the right thing to just uproot her son and travel to the middle of god knows where Purgatory. Unfortunately things at home are too poisonous to stay, and she does not want that life for her child even if she had to grow up in it.The only thing Nicole wasn't expecting with this new move and new job was to meet the local town sweetheart and bartender Waverly Earp. It didn't help that Waverly stole her son's heart at first meet, and maybe Nicole's with it. Add to that demons that her son thinks are nightmares are real, and Nicole is sure that she's in over her head.But she has a sneaking suspicion that this new life will be more than worth it.





	1. Roadtrip to Nowhere

Nicole felt confident in her choice when she was packing up her apartment. She still felt sure in her decision when she was shutting the trunk on her beat up SUV. It wasn’t until she was about a hundred miles out of town, that she started to get nervous. There was nothing in front of her but wide-open plains and a mountain range to the west.

The only noises she could hear were the whistling of the wind against the car, and the soft hum of the children’s song playing through the speakers. On reflex Nicole checks the rearview mirror and gets a look at the most important thing in the car— her son. Her whole reason for making this trip as well to get him as far away from the poisoning influences as possible.

His honey brown eyes were bright with joy as he moved around his two favorite action figures that he recently got for his birthday. Currently his fixation was on Spiderman and Wonder Woman. Nicole was more than a little curious if he had an innocent crush on Wonder Woman or not. Wavy bronze hair is disheveled on his head, ending in small curls on his forehead.

The little boy looks up and catches his mother’s eyes in the mirror. The toothy full baby teeth smile she gets in return is more than enough to calm her racing mind again. Yes, Nicole could do this. She had to do this for him. Slowly times crawls by and the distance to Nicole’s new start is dwindling.

It’s still a mystery to her how she managed to find such an opportunity that would take her out of the town she grew up in and employ her in another. Not many Sheriff’s Departments were looking to take on a single woman deputy with a newly minted four-year-old son. But Randy Nedley— the sheriff of the town of Purgatory said that he would still be much obliged if she came out and filled his empty deputy spot.

Over the phone the sheriff had even chuffed that it would be nice to have a little tyke running around the bull pen once again. Nicole didn’t interrupt him to ask what child he was referring to. The only real regret that Nicole had in this whole abrupt move was to take her son away from the only form of family he knew, even if they didn’t like him or love him. That was a pain that still lanced through Nicole’s heart every day.

“Momma I gots ta go potty.” A little voice breaks through Nicole’s thoughts. She glances in the mirror again at her son and sees him squirming in his car seat.

“Okay Ollie I’ll pull over.” Nicole says, feeling thankful that they had finally had made it to a sparsely populated land and a roadside diner was straight ahead.

The tires crunched over the gravel as she pulls into a spot in front of Lu Anne’s Diner. The paint job on the outside looks shabby, but from what Nicole can see of the inside it looks rather nice. Shoving the gear into park Nicole turns off the engine and swings out the door, so that she can hurry over to her squirming child attempting to free himself.

“Hold on there partner, let me help you.” Nicole chuckles undoing the buckles on his seat.

“I a big boy now Momma. I cans do it.” Oliver grumbles, but Nicole knows that he’s faking his frustration.

After he’s helped to the ground little Oliver runs for the doors of the diner. Nicole shakes her head as she locks up the car, watching amusedly as he struggles to open the door of the diner. When she catches up to him Nicole slightly adds force to the door so that it opens and Ollie beams at her pleased that he was able to open it.

The bell over the door jingles and a middle-aged woman looks up from wiping down the counter. There are only a few patrons in the place. Two old men sit at the far end of the counter sipping coffee and talking about the upcoming ice fishing. In a booth on the other side of the room what looks to be a teenage Romeo and Juliet are huddled close whispering to each other.

“How can I help you?” The woman asks smiling down at the little cute boy in front of her.

“Hi lady! I gots ta pee.” Oliver says very seriously. Nicole resists the urge to face palm and quickly interjects herself into the conversation.

“Sorry about that! Oliver what do we say?” Nicole chastises lightly. The woman merely chuckles and shakes her head.

“Nothing to worry about lass. I like a straight-talking young man. Especially when it’s about something so important.” The woman says. She points to the far end of the diner by the teenagers. “Bathrooms are that way. Do you want a booth or the counter?”

Nicole stands there for a moment struck dumb by the question thrust upon her. She had been driving for so long that she hadn’t even took a second to look at the clock. She glances at the old faded clock face on the wall and sees that it’s a quarter past two in the afternoon. A rumble goes through her stomach.

“A booth please. We’ll be right out.” Nicole says with a smile before grabbing her squirming son’s hand. Nicole hurries behind the scurrying toddler as he makes his way into the lone restroom of the building. Nicole locks the door behind them and smiles softly as she sees Oliver struggling with the button on his little jeans. He’s grown so much in the past few years. It feels like she’s only blinked and the years have flown by.

“Mama… help.” Oliver whines disgruntled by the lack of support. Nicole quickly jumps into action and frees the little boy. When everything is said and done and hands are squeaky clean Nicole carries her son back out into the diner and over to the booth that the kind waitress is at. Nicole slides both of them into the booth and glances up at the waitress.

“What’ll you have to drink?” She asks smiling at Ollie who is looking at her with big wide eyes.

“Juice!” Oliver exclaims bouncing excitedly on the vinyl cushion. Nicole nods her head in agreement.

“A coffee for me as well.” The waitress leaves them and Nicole quickly scours over the kids’ menu in front of Ollie as he fights to open up his crayons.

“What do you want Ollie?” Nicole asks, gaining the attention of the little boy. Ollie glances over most of the words on the menu only really looking at the pictures.

“Mac n’ Cheese?” He questions. Nicole glances at the listing and sees that it is indeed offered.

“Sure partner.” She affirms and quickly opens his crayons so that the happy little boy can color and hum happily.

When the waitress arrives with their drinks Nicole orders their food and after a quick glance at Oliver focuses her gaze out the window. The plains have given way to a fair amount of rolling hills and the mountains are still clear as day in the distance. Nicole still wonders if it’s a good idea to go to a town named Purgatory out in the middle of nowhere.

When she looked it up online all the town’s webpage really said was that it was a great little place to raise families and that Wyatt Earp was once there. Nicole remembers telling Ollie that and explaining to him that he was a cowboy and lawman. That sealed the deal on the move for him right there. If only things were as easy as they were to a four-year-old.

Their food arrives and Nicole finds herself relaxing into her sandwich and joking around with her kid. After they’re finished they get back on the road. Oliver is fighting to keep his eyes open as the movement of the car lulls him to sleep. It seems like she is in the car forever when she sees a faded old sign come into view.

 

Welcome to Purgatory.

 

God Nicole hopes that she is making the right choice.

 

 

 


	2. Welcome to Purgatory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Oliver finally make it to their final destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for commenting, leaving kudos, and viewing this story! It is amazing how much interest and support has come out for this story in only a day. In honor of that I have decided to post another chapter as soon as it was ready. I hope that you all continue to read and enjoy Nicole and little Oliver. Never fear Waverly is not too far away.

 

Nicole can’t really tell what she thinks of the town when she turns her SUV down the small main road so that she can make it to the police station. Her new boss Sheriff Nedley said that he would lead her and Oliver to their new place. Honestly Nicole wasn’t used to the level of kindness this gruff sounding sheriff was affording her.

 

“Where the cowboys?” Ollie’s sleepy voice pierces through her quiet reverie. Nicole chuckles softly.

 

“Well I don’t see any at the moment Ollie. Maybe if we’re lucky we can find one.” Nicole tells him, unable to destroy his wonder in the world.

 

Coming to the end of the street Nicole turns to the right and sees the small municipal building come into sight. There are two police cruisers and a battered police SUV parked out front of it. It’s not much to look at but it’s going to be home now. Nicole has learned that not all shiny police stations have as good people on the inside as it looks on the outside.

 

Nicole pulls into a spot next to the SUV and puts her car in park. She turns around to look at her son, who is now much more awake and keener about what’s going on around him. “Are you ready to go look at momma’s new work?” Nicole questions.

 

“Yes!” Oliver squeals his bronze head nodding so fast that Nicole worries for a moment it might come off. If there was one thing that Oliver loved was the fact that his momma was a police officer. It was the coolest thing ever right next to the people who wear the yellow clothes and run into fire.

 

Of course, momma told him to never go near fire. Nicole is nervous by the time that she has her bouncing ball of energy on the ground. She knows that it’s not very professional to bring your child to your first meeting with your new boss, but he was the one that instructed her to come here first thing.

 

Nicole glances down to see Ollie bouncing on his little feet his toothy smile out at full blast. He always enjoyed going to her old station even though none of the other adults were very friendly with him. It probably because Nicole let him wear her cap, and even though it fell down over his eyes, Oliver was so damn proud to wear some part of the uniform.

 

Nicole can still hardly fathom how someone can just so blindly think of her as a hero, even if it is her own kid. “Momma!” the frustrated whine of Oliver makes Nicole finally mover her feet, and allow his tiny tugging hand to lead her to the front door of the station. After the pair manage to pull open the heavier than normal door Nicole lets her eyes wander around the reception area of the station.

 

There are a few hard and old wooden booths for visitors to sit on and at the other side of the room is a high, old, wooden desk where an older lady is perched. There is a hallway off to her left farther back into the building and an opening to the right where Nicole can see a small squad room.

 

Taking a deep breath Nicole leads the pair of them up to the front desk. After a tug on her jean leg she bends down and hoists Oliver into her arms so that he can see as well. The woman has blonde hair that is beginning to gray neatly coiffed and a pair of turquoise reading glasses perched on her nose.

 

She honestly looks like she could more be someone’s grandmother than the first line of defense for a police department. Nicole clears her throat a little unsure of how to gain the woman’s attention from her crossword puzzle. After that doesn’t work she instead looks at the last remaining clue to be filled in.

 

“Algorithm.” Nicole states. Gray eyes snap up to meet hers. “The answer to the one you’re looking at.” The woman’s stare is so focused that Nicole has to fight the urge to shift nervously. She’s a trained police officer for crying out loud and this department’s soon to be deputy. She should not be intimidated by this woman.

 

“Seems like it’ll fit. It’s not like I do these for my health you know. It’s mainly to prove to my know it all son, that his momma can still whoop his butt at anything she puts her mind to. Mind you staring at paper all day for fun is not my kind of thing.” The woman says shoving the paper away from her as soon as the last letter is scrawled. “Now, what can I help you with?”

 

“I’m here to see Sheriff Nedley. I’m Nicole Haught.” As soon as the words leave her mouth a smile lights up across the woman’s face.

 

“Deputy Haught we’ve been waiting for you! The Sheriff said you’d be in today, but I didn’t know whether to believe him or not. Most young folks don’t want to be moving to small towns now a days. Especially not with some of the cutest and handsomest young men in their arms.” She says smiling at a now blushing Oliver.

 

Nicole chuckles unsurely. Her son may be a social butterfly most of the time, but as soon as a stranger starts showing him a lot of attention he gets all shy. It’s probably due to his old town. Nicole rues what people thought would be okay with a child back there.

 

“No, I’m here and honestly happy for the change.” Nicole says surprising herself because she is starting to mean it.

 

“Well good then. I’m Janet and I’m sure that the Sheriff would be happy to see you now. I know it was a long trip up here.” She says gesturing to the bullpen and the only office on the far side.

 

“Okay well thank you. It was good meeting you.” Nicole says awkwardly shifting Oliver’s eight so that she can shake Janet’s hand. As Nicole is walking away Ollie peeks over his mother’s should to wave at Janet.

 

“Bye bye lady.” Ollie says before tucking his face against Nicole’s shoulder. Nicole looks around the bullpen and doesn’t see anyone at any of the desks. She assumes that they must be out on patrol. After taking a steadying breath Nicole raps on the door with the frosted glass and the word Sheriff emblazoned in gold.

 

There is a grumble from inside and Nicole steels herself for the worst. Her grip tightens slightly on Oliver ready to run out of there with him if the unfathomable need arises. The door swings open to a middle-aged man slightly shorter than herself with graying brown hair, scruffy cheeks, and a mustache on his lip.

 

The thing that puts Nicole at ease though is the slight softness that Nicole can see in his brown eyes as he takes in the young boy tucked into her neck.

 

“You must be Deputy Haught then.” He says gruffly and opens the door wider so that Nicole and Oliver can come inside. “Your kid can take the couch. He should be comfortable there.” Nicole nods her head and leans down to set her boy down. Oliver sticks for a moment before letting go. Nicole quickly hands him his Wonder Woman action figure from her pocket. He’d given it to her to hold onto earlier.

 

Nicole takes her seat in one of the two old and uncomfortable looking chairs across the desk from him in his cluttered little office. The main focal point that catches the eye is the fish that is mounted to the wall behind the Sheriff’s desk. “So, you made it out here in one piece that’s good. Was the drive all right?” He asks clearing his throat awkwardly.

 

“No problems. Just long is all. I’m afraid Oliver slept too much on the trip up, so he’ll be up most of the night. Not that you should mind that.” Nicole says clicking her jaw shut to stop her rambling.

 

“It’s fine Nicole. I have a daughter myself. When they’re young they’re always on your mind, not that that ever goes away mind you. Glad to have you both here in one piece either way.” Nedley says shifting a little awkwardly in his seat. Nicole is the first ever female deputy that he’s had in this station house. Not that he doubts her at all based on the stellar credentials and references she gave. The only supposed blemish is that she had a child.

 

“Well it’s good to have you here Haught. I know that it has been a big change for you, but I have a feeling that you’re going to like life in Purgatory fairly well. Sure there are plenty of slow and boring days being the small town lawman— er woman, but the place and people start to grow on you.” Nicole nods her head at his statement.

 

“No worries Sheriff it wasn’t much bigger where we came from. I’m honestly just looking for a nice place to start over fresh and let my son grow up happy.” Nicole tells him putting all the earnestness that she can into her expression. Even though she already has the job, she knows that this man took more than a small chance on her.

 

“I hope that you find that here Deputy Haught. Your first day of work will start at Monday eight sharp in the morning. Hopefully that will give you some time to get the boy settled.” She catches Nedley looking at her son with that small look of fondness again. Oliver is lying on his stomach with one of his light up Star Wars shoes dangling by a foot, and miming Wonder Woman arresting a suspect.

 

Only her child would think of playing cops and robbers with superheroes at this age. “That will be great. Thank you sir.” Nicole responds.

 

“None of that sir stuff when we’re behind closed doors. You can call me Nedley.” He stands up and picks up his Stetson lying on a small coat rack. “Come on Haught and small Haught. Let me show you to your new place so that you can get settled in.”

 

Nicole quickly gets up after him and moves over to Oliver scolding him lightly for making himself too comfortable in her new boss’s office. Once she’s zipped his green coat back up she quickly grabs his hand so they can follow the retreating sheriff.

 

“Where we goin’ Mama?” Ollie asks craning his neck up to look at his mother. Some day he was going to be as tall as her, that way it’d be far easier to hug and kiss her.

 

“Home little man we’re going home.” Nicole says and for once there’s a slight hope that it will actually become it.


	3. Home and a Place to Eat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the reviews and kudos! Sorry for the later posting, but I have been sidetracked with work and acceptance to grad school. I have time now though to focus on writing so I plan on pushing forward with more Nicole, Oliver, and soon more characters. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

It turns out to be nicer than Nicole pictured. For the price they were offering, Nicole was expecting the closet to an apartment townhome she could get to be awful. It honestly wasn’t all that bad though. It was on the near end of the old row of townhomes a few blocks off of the main street in a more residential area.

 

The sky-blue paint was chipping off the siding, and the white door was in dire need of a new coat of paint, but the place didn’t look like it’d fall down on her son’s head. Nicole pulled into the small driveway as Nedley parked his SUV in front of the house.

 

“This home?” Oliver questions craning his neck from side to side in effort to see more of his new place.

 

“Yep buddy, this is our new place. Let me get out and we can go and take a look at it.” Nicole says quickly shifting the car into park and turning off the engine. Once again it’s a race to get the excited little boy out of his car seat before he managed to somehow strangle himself with his restraints.

 

Nicole was really regretting letting Oliver sleep longer for his nap than usual. She was definitely going to be up half the night tonight with an overly energetic toddler.

 

“CJ too.” Ollie states crossing his little arms and levelling his momma with what he thinks is a firm look. Nicole has to bite back her coo at how adorable he is at the moment.

 

“Buddy we really need to wait until after we have all the big furniture in place before letting her out.” Nicole says trying to reason with him. Oliver just intensifies his pout more. Nicole sighs and rubs her hand over the back of her head. She honestly is still unsure how she got herself into this situation in the first place.

 

It wasn’t like she was really looking for a pet in the first place. Looking after a human child was responsibility enough without adding an animal’s like into the picture. But somehow, they ended up with a tiny ginger ball of fluff with a personality ten times her size. She’d been like that since the first moment Nicole had rescued her from getting kicked by the man’s foot she was attacking.

 

She had taken her from the alleyway by the restaurant and brought her home so that she could make a few missing fliers when Ollie had spotted the kitten. It was love at first sight for him and overwhelming confusion and resignation for the man hating kitten. Not even the fierce hatred of men that Calamity Jane had seemed to extend to her son.

 

Nicole is thinking that it’s just because Oliver is a boy right now, and that we he grows older the damn cat will be so used to him at that point that she’ll ignore his manliness. With a slight groan Nicole opened the door again and leaned over Oliver’s car seat for the black carrier holding the slightly larger ginger ball of fur. Two yellow eyes peeked out at her reproachfully for being subjected to the carrier for so long.

 

Some days it seems like she could do nothing right for that cat. The sight of Calamity Jane sent a smile back onto Ollie’s face again.

 

“CJ!” Oliver cries getting up on his tiptoes so that he can make kissy faces at his favorite cat. Nicole reaches out her other hand for Oliver and he latches on faithfully. The threesome makes their way up the short walk to the front step where an awkward looking Sheriff Nedley stands waiting for them.

 

“This isn’t a bad place to be deputy. The neighbors are nice and there will be other young ones for your little fellow to play with. Susan next door has a pair of kids. I think one of ‘em is around your tyke’s age.” Nedley clears his throat and gestures to the door. “I took the liberty and helped the boys unpack the necessities when they arrived.”

 

Nicole sighed in relief. So, it paid off in the end to ship their beds and bigger furniture ahead so that they’d be here when they arrived. So, what if it meant staying in a hotel for a night or two so that the transition would be easier. It’s not like family would have been willing to take them in.

 

Nicole quickly shakes herself out of dark and negative thoughts. “Thank you Nedley.” She says with as much sincerity as she can. She’s still unsure about why he’s being so unbelievably kind to them, but she appreciates it all the same. Nedley opens the door to the townhome and they all make their way inside.

 

There is a small foyer which comes with a few coats hooks and a bench where you can sit and take off your shoes. As they walk farther in Nicole can see the living room off to the right where their old couch sits in front of their TV box. Nedley takes them to the left through a small dining room with her tiny table, and into the kitchen.

 

It is surprisingly big considering the size of the place. The appliances are not brand new, but they aren’t old either so Nicole is not going to complain. Nedley then shows her the downstairs bathroom off of the living room.

 

“Upstairs are two bedrooms and bathrooms. If you want to swap your room and Oliver’s then just give me a call, and I’ll come over with Chrissy and we can help get things back into shape.” Nedley says standing awkwardly in front of the stairs leading upstairs.

 

“This has been more than I could ever ask for Sheriff. I don’t know how I can begin to repay you…” Nicole trails off slightly overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. It has been so long since someone has done something nice for her just because. Oliver was usually the only one who went out of his way, but there’s only so much a four-year-old can do. Not that Nicole doesn’t love his macaroni art mind you.

 

“The only thing you have to do for me Haught is show up and give your all at your job. That’s all I ever ask for. The only other stipulation that I have is for you to stay safe so that young man keeps his mother.” Nedley says motioning with his chin to Oliver who is on the floor talking to the crated CJ.

 

“That I can promise you sir.” Nicole says shaking her new boss’ hand. Nedley nods his head and makes his way for the front door. “One last thing sir, where would be the best place to go and get some food tonight. I for sure don’t feel like cooking after a long day of driving.”

 

“Well there honestly isn’t much in this here town but there’s Lorelai’s Diner on 2nd street and a take out Chinese restaurant on Jackson.”

 

Nicole frowns at the options before her so far. Ollie might be a good eater so far, but he hasn’t gotten too terribly adventurous yet. Unfortunately for her, her son picked up her dislike of the same kind of food multiple times a day so the diner was looking pretty slim at the moment.

 

“There is also Shorty’s Bar, he serves up some good food there. You just have to be willing to take the chance of having your son around some of the bar patrons, but it should be early enough that they shouldn’t be bothersome yet, it being a Friday and all.” Nedley finishes. Nicole frowns to herself.

 

She is not overly happy about taking her son to a bar, but if they have good food then she might just have to risk it. Besides it’s barely going on five in the evening so no one should be too drunk yet. If so, well they will just have to count their lucky stars that she doesn’t have her service pistol yet.

 

“Thank you Sheriff I’ll see you on Monday.” Nicole says as she sees Nedley to the door. He nods his head, and with a semi awkward wave he heads back towards his car. Nicole closes the door behind him and clutches her new set of keys in her hand. This is the biggest place she’s ever owned, and it’s in a place she’s never been before.

 

Nicole turns her gaze to her son, to see that he’s staring at her with an expectant look on his face. She notices the open carrier by his side and sighs. Sometimes her boy is too smart for his own good and now she’s going to have to find that damn cat.

 

“What do you say, you hungry?” Nicole asks. Ollie jumps to his feet and flies at her.

 

“Yes! CJ hungry too! Her belly growl and she runned off.” Oliver says tripping over his words. Nicole can’t keep the smile off of her face.

 

“Well let’s go find this ball of fur so that we can get her fed, and then us. Looks like Mama’s found us a new place to go see.” Nicole says walking further into the house with a giggling Oliver on her feet.

 

Please, please, please, let this bar be somewhat child appropriate. She’s going to rot in bad mother purgatory forever.


	5. Shorty's, Cowboys, and Waverly Earp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the people who have taken the time to read, leave kudos, and comment on the story! Your feedback is amazing, and it is part of what makes writing fanfiction so enjoyable. I hope you all enjoy the introduction between our two favorite characters!

Nicole was still unsure if going to a bar to get food with a four-year-old was a good idea. She was kind of stuck now since she was parked out front of the bar with a happily babbling Oliver. Well it’s not like this would be the first bad parenting mistake that she had made. There was that one time she semi lost him in a toy store even though he could only crawl at the time.

 

“Are you ready for some food?” Nicole asks finally peeling her hands off the steering wheel. Oliver perks up from his imagination.

 

“Yeah! I wanna amburger!” Oliver cries bouncing in his seat. Nicole chuckles at him.

 

“A hamburger? I don’t know are you going to be able to eat the whole thing?” She teases getting out of her seat and moving around the car to open his door.

 

“I can! I so hungwy Mama.” Ollie says solemnly as Nicole lifts him out of his car seat. He wraps his little legs securely around his hips letting Nicole know that he wants to be held. Nicole closes the door and locks the car. The pair approach the door, but Nicole is distracted by a sign next to the door.

 

“Come drink where Wyatt Earp drank. Oliver looks like a cowboy used to come here.” Nicole says making a shocked look on her face. Ollie’s brown eyes grow large and his jaw drops open in shock.

 

“A cowboy?” He breathes. Nicole nods her head and shifts his weight slightly in her arms. She’s lucky that she’s so strong from academy training. “I wants to meet him.”

 

“Well partner I think he’s long gone from these parts, but maybe someone inside can tell us about him.” Nicole says pushing through the doors of the bar. The inside honestly looks like something she would expect of an old west saloon. Wooden tables are strewn about the room, with a large wooden bar the focal point on the right side. Some booths are set up at the back of the room.

 

The only new appliances are the taps at the bar, the pool tables on the left side, and the order window connecting to the kitchen in the back. A few patrons are spread out across the bar but mostly its fairly quiet. Nicole lets out a subtle breath that she had been holding. An older man with graying hair is standing behind the bar cleaning some glasses in his free time.

 

Nicole makes her way over to him. Oliver tucks his head down onto his mother’s shoulder seeing as they are going to talk to someone new. When they are close enough to the bar the man looks up. His eyes widen slightly in surprise at seeing someone new in his bar let alone with a little kid in her arms.

 

“What can I help you with miss?” He asks putting down the glass and rag. Nicole clears her suddenly dry throat.

 

“Yes, I was wondering if we could get some dinner?” She says sounding unsure of her choice. The man stares at her for a moment before nodding his head.

 

“Not a problem. We usually get the younger crowd in here more on the weekends, but its early enough on in the day that the boy shouldn’t see anything unseemly.” He says emerging out from behind the bar to lead Nicole and Oliver over to a booth. “You two must be new in town. My name’s Shorty and I own and run this here bar. I’ll send Waverly over in a moment with menus for you.”

 

With a smile at Nicole and a little wave for Oliver the man is back over to the bar to help a customer. “Mama, he a cowboy?” Ollie asks tugging on Nicole’s sleeve while she wrestles with the zipper of his jacket.

 

“No buddy he’s the owner of this place. He might know something about cowboys though.” Nicole says smiling victoriously when she frees the toddler of his heavy jacket. Oliver has on one of his favorite Mickey Mouse shirts.

 

“Did someone say cowboys? I happen to know a thing or two about them.”

 

Nicole looks up to see who is addressing them and freezes at the sight of one of the prettiest women she’s ever seen. Not that Nicole has had the chance to go looking for pretty women recently. Her wavy brown hair fell part her shoulders, and her big shining brown eyes were smiling almost as much as her lips were.

 

“Weally?” Ollie breathes, instantly captivated by the new woman to be shy of her. The smile intensifies as her gaze drifts to the boy.

 

“Well, I don’t like to brag but I have studied up pretty much all of the history of these here parts. My specialty though is Wyatt Earp the cowboy.” She says. Oliver’s eyes grow so wide, Nicole is afraid for a moment that he’s going to hurt himself.

 

“You’re going to have to tell him something now.” Nicole says finally gaining her voice back. The incurably gay part of her brain is yelling in panic and running around in circles while a siren is blaring. This is so not good. Crushing on the first beautifully attractive woman is not the way to start out this new life.

 

The woman moves her eyes and they catch Nicole’s. Nicole swears that all brain function ceases to work as they lock eyes. It could have been forever until Ollie interrupts the moment.

 

“Cowboy has a horsey?” Oliver asks not noticing the sudden moment between the two women. Nicole forces herself to look at her son and not the woman who is making her feel like she’s twelve again, and trying to figure out how to tell her childhood best friend Peter that she doesn’t like him the same way that he likes her.

 

“He did, and I believe her name was Jeanie Mae the fastest filly you’d ever meet. Now I’m sure that you’d like to get some food in or maybe something to drink?” Nicole startles once again as the attention of the beautiful waitress is back on her.

 

“Um yes, two waters please and I guess two of your burgers. It would be very appreciated if one of them could be child sized.” Nicole says finding herself blushing for some reason. A wide smile spreads across the waitress’ face.

 

“We’ll go to all the bother because of how cute y’all are.” She says with a wink and a wave before disappearing back towards the bar. Nicole lets out a breath of air she wasn’t sure that she was holding.

 

“Mama, she nice and pretty. Will she tell me more ‘bout cowboys?” Ollie asks scooting closer in the booth next to his mother with a gigantic smile on his face. His dimples are popping big time with how excited he’s gotten.

 

“I don’t know partner, we’re going to have to ask her about that.” Nicole says, steeling herself as she spies the waitress coming back over with two waters.

 

“A water for the lady and her small fry.” She says with a proud smile to Oliver’s giggle. Nicole can’t help but smile herself. Her son has never taken this easily to another person before, then again no one has ever indulged in his interests besides Nicole.

 

“I’m sorry Miss…” Nicole trails off trying to get a name for the kind woman.

 

“Oh! Waverly. My name is Waverly, I forget sometimes that there are a few people who come in here who actually don’t know my name.” Waverly says waving her hands about excitedly.

 

“Okay Waverly, you’ve made quite the impression on Oliver here. He has something to ask you.” Nicole says giving her suddenly stage shy toddler a small nudge.

 

“Wavy, cans you tell me ‘bout cowboys?” Ollie says but Nicole gives him a small nudge. “Pease?”

 

Waverly almost dies from the cuteness that is the little boy sitting across from her. No one has ever asked to hear about her research before, and she can’t believe that it’s taking a four-year-old to do so.

 

“I think I have some time Oliver. I’d love to tell you and…” Waverly turns her gaze to Nicole again.

 

“Nicole.” Nicole stutters out quickly.

 

“…Nicole about cowboys.” Waverly finishes with a smile. She then dives straight in to setting the scene of wild west Purgatory when the only mode of transportation was a horse, and outlaws far outnumbered the lawmen.

 

It is safe to say that Nicole is in so much trouble.


End file.
